Fantasy Football Analysis for Champions by The Champion!

July 27, 2017

Philadelphia Eagles Fantasy Football Preview

The Philadelphia Eagles are a team that is in the process of re-building. The Chip Kelly experiment crashed and burned, and the Eagles are making the effort to get the right personnel and the right players in the door to get them back to the playoffs and a Super Bowl. The team still have a way to go to be a Super Bowl contending team, but this year’s crop of talent should make a lot of noise for Fantasy Football owners and their teams.

Must Draft Players

Alshon Jeffrey – Wide Receiver

Zach Ertz – Tight End

Let me be clear on something, I don’t like Alshon Jeffrey. He has yet to prove that he can be a number one receiver for a team. He thrived with Brandon Marshall opposite of him for his two seasons where he averaged 87 receptions for 1,277 yards and 9 touchdowns. Since Marshall left, he has averaged 53 receptions for 814 yards and 3 touchdowns. He is walking into a situation where he is going to be the number one receiver again, but this time his quarterback is a lot better (I’ll get to him shortly). While I am willing to be wrong about Jeffrey and not draft him, other owners should take him and reap the potential upside that he has.

In the last two seasons, Zach Ertz has turned into a quality tight end that you could start each week. He has missed three games in the last two season, but when he plays he’s averaging 11 points per game. He and Carson Wentz started really building chemistry at the end of the season, which I believe will carry over into 2017. I do think his touchdown numbers will go up because Wentz will throw more touchdowns this season.

Players You Should Probably Draft

Carson Wentz – Quarterback

LeGarrette Blount – Running Back

Jordan Matthews – Wide Receiver

Carson Wentz had as impressive of a rookie season as he could in my opinion. The passing options weren’t great, the running game couldn’t get going, and he didn’t anticipate being the starting quarterback because Sam Bradford was supposed to be the guy. When the Eagles traded him Minnesota, he had to quickly assume the role as leader for the team. He was close to 4,000 yards passing in his rookie year, but throwing 14 interceptions to only 16 touchdowns really hurt his worth for owners. A full offseason program with his new batch of weapons will help him improve to at double his passing touchdowns and get above 4,000 passing yards.

LeGarrette Blount will not score 18 rushing touchdowns again this season, and won’t even come close to it if you ask me. Prior to last season’s amazing touchdown total, he was averaging about 5 touchdowns a year. He also only averages 700 rushing yards a season. That means his average game total is only 6.3 points per game. I think he could do better than that, but he’s the starting running back for a team and he is someone who should be drafted.

Jordan Matthews is going to be the third option this season in the passing game if you ask me. Alshon Jeffrey and Zach Ertz are going to get theirs, and then the rest of the receiving group will take what they can get. Matthews will likely take the majority of the remaining targets. He has averaged 116 targets a season and has turned that into 75 receptions for 891 yards and 6 touchdowns. I think that’s reasonable for him to do again in 2017.

Players You Could Draft If Your Rosters are Deep

Torrey Smith – Wide Receiver

Nelson Agholor – Wide Receiver

Brent Celek – Tight End

Torrey Smith is always interesting to me because he has the ability to literally win the week for your team. He can go off for 200 yards and 3 touchdowns and make it look effortless. Then you sign him from waivers because that’s usually where he is when it happens and he has 1 receptions for 1 yard the next 4 weeks. Then you start the process all over again when you drop him. In a DFS or best ball system he’s someone you take a chance on, but otherwise your roster needs to be DEEP to draft him.

Nelson Agholor is only worth having on your team if Jeffrey or Matthews gets hurt. He has averaged a little less than 30 receptions for 325 yards and a touchdown and a half in two seasons. Would not be surprised if they moved on from him this season.

Brent Celek is only relevant if Ertz is out for the season, and you’ll likely find better options on the waiver wire instead of him!